


The Beauty in the Dark

by ReeLeeV



Series: Kihyungwon Bingo 2019 [3]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, Hidden Relationship, Hyungki, Kihyungwon, Kihyungwon Bingo, Light Angst, M/M, Opera AU, Phantom of the Opera AU, Theater AU, and kihyun's christine, hyungwon's the phantom, kihyung, kind of, kiwon, pretty much, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 04:07:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17501249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReeLeeV/pseuds/ReeLeeV
Summary: Kihyun’s always had an imaginary friend growing up, someone to sing and dance with in the catacombs of the opera house. His friends never believed him when he told them about him… until some strange things started happening that only one thing could explain: The Phantom.





	The Beauty in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> My third submission for the Kihyungwon Bingo~! It was done for the theater/broadway square.... ya know, cause opera's a type of theater lol ^^*

Kihyun sighs, sitting at the mock-up bar onstage. He watches as the chorus dancers prance about, performing their steps with finesse. Kihyun props his chin in his hand, settling against the fake set. Minhyuk leaps passed him, his face more of a deadset, determined expression. Kihyun shifts in his seat, readjusting his costume slightly before settling back on the stool. 

“I-I don’t know about this one…” Hoseok whines, the metal of his own costume clinking as he readjusts how it lays atop his chest. Kihyun glances over, humming softly under his breath.

“At least you’ve got the body to pull it off, hyung,” he says. “I haven’t worked out in a while, so my abs just… melted off.”

“You could join us next time we go to help set up the stage,” Hyunwoo offers, setting next to Kihyun on another bar stool. The weak wood creaks under his weight, even though it’s easy to tell Hyunwoo’s only sitting every so slightly on it to keep it from breaking. Kihyun snickers, waving off the offer.

“Sorry, can’t do that,” he tells him point-blank. “I’ve got too much to do to prepare for the actual show to be able to spend time moving around entire sets.” Hyunwoo merely shrugs, turning his attention to the dance rehearsal before them.

“More like you can’t bear to take a moment away from your imaginary boyfriend, eh hyung~?” Changkyun asks cheekily, waggling his brow. Kihyun shoots him a look, as if daring him to say more, though the maknae only seems amused as he leans against the fake bar. He twists his hips a bit to the grand music filling the air. 

“I-If Kihyunnie says he’s real,” Hoseok lamely defends, stuttering at the mention of Kihyun’s friend, “then he is… Just because we’ve never seen him doesn’t mean Kihyunnie is lying.” Changkyun coos at this, reaching forward to pinch at the older man’s cheek teasingly. The action only causes a deep shade of pink to flame up over Hoseok’s face, and the older man kneads his lower lip between his teeth as he watches the other.

“It’s impossible for someone to have lived their entire lives in this opera house without being seen by all but  _ one  _ person,” Changkyun goes on to say. He then glances into Kihyun’s annoyed gaze, staring with a cool smirk as he surmises, “He. Isn’t. Real.”

“Who’s not real?” Jooheon asks, strutting up to their little bit of the stage. His face is all done up, and he looks just perfect for the role of an extra, though everyone knows he’s vying for a lead role someday. 

“Kihyunnie’s boyf—”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Kihyun finally snaps, crossing his arms over his chest. He doesn’t meet any of the others’ eyes, knowing exactly what he’ll find there. Pity. Worry. “We’re just friends… and he  _ is  _ real. I wouldn’t make something like this up.”

“Hyung,” Changkyun says, “it’s been  _ years _ since I moved here, and it’s been even longer for the rest of you, but you’re the only one that’s ever seen this mystery guy. Maybe you don’t know that you’re making him up, but there’s  _ no way he _ —”

“ _ Don’t  _ psychoanalyze me, Im,” Kihyun tells the maknae, a chilling warning in his tone. “I’m not crazy, so don’t try to make me out to be.” He then hops off the stool with a sigh, knowing his part is coming up in the rehearsal. It’s a minor role, but it’s better than being swallowed up by the chorus. “Now, if you’re all done talking nonsense, I have a part to play.” He stomps off towards his mark without so much as giving them another second to acknowledge him, done with them all for now.

He can feel their sympathetic gazes on his back as he moves, and that alone is enough to set an indignant fire ablaze within his core.

 

“... Are you okay, Kihyunnie…? You seem upset.”

“They all say you’re not real,” Kihyun replies, whispering into the shadows of the cathedral room. Candles surround him, a photograph of his mother and father set in a gilded frame sits on the shelf in front of him. He’d come here tonight to pray, as he always does before a performance.

After all, this seems to be the place his friend is most comfortable to show his face.

“Well, that’s silly,” his friend says with a light laugh, the almost musical tones echoing throughout the room. Kihyun’s heart eases slightly at the familiar sound, and he offers a small smile in return.

“I mean, I see their point,” Kihyun says, causing the laughter to cease. “No one else has ever seen you… I’d question it if I were them.” He huffs out a sigh, shaking his head as he sits back from the altar to fully face the faceless corner. “It’s just… getting harder to defend it. Why don’t you just show yourself to them, just once?”

There’s an uneasy silence that follows his words, and Kihyun can’t help but sigh again, leaning back on his hands and tilting his head to the side. He waits and waits for his friend to respond, but there’s nothing, and he starts to wonder if he’d pushed too far.

“... Just come here, will you?” he finally says after waiting a few moments. He offers out a hand, hoping he hadn’t pulled one of those dramatic disappearing acts he’s proven to love over the years.

But, eventually, Kihyun’s relieved to know he’s wrong as Hyungwon shuffles out, his long legs gliding over the chilled cement floor. He sets his graceful, elegant hand in Kihyun’s, and he sits in the older boy’s lap. His big beautiful eyes are downcast, and he’s got his lower lip stuck between his teeth. Kihyun can’t help but coo, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he leans forward to hug Hyungwon.

Hyungwon’s always been so sensitive to the idea of showing himself to anyone. Hell, it’d taken Kihyun five years to get the boy to trust  _ him _ enough to show himself.

“I’m sorry,” Kihyun says softly, his tone oh-so gentle, like he’s speaking to a wounded animal. Hyungwon relaxes in Kihyun’s hold, seemingly eased by it. “I don’t mean to push you…”

“No, you’re right,” Hyungwon concedes, pulling away enough to stare into Kihyun’s eyes. The candlelight reflected there dances and sparkles, making the older look so utterly divine. “I know I should leave this opera house eventually, I do. It just… makes me nervous.” He doesn’t go into why he’s so terrified, what happened when he was a child. Not yet. He doesn’t want Kihyun to know his sob-story of a past.

Everyone always looks at him differently when they find out, and he doesn’t want the way Kihyun looks at him to ever change.

“We’ll work up to it, together,” Kihyun offers, his tone caring and sweet and everything Hyungwon’s ever wanted. Hyungwon gulps thickly, giving two small nods in response before fully shifting off Kihyun’s lap to sit on his own. Kihyun shifts about till he’s cross-legged, clasping his hands as he leans forward. “So, tell me about your day,” he says, causing Hyungwon to chuckle again.

His days are always the same, filled with exploring the same passageways over and over and struggling to find some new area to explore, only to end up under the stage, beneath all the different levels of workers and gears and pulleys and whatever else could go into the current production, listening to Kihyun’s sweet voice as he sings, laughs, and chats with everyone else there.

His days are always the same, and though it sometimes grows tiresome, Kihyun makes it all okay.


End file.
